The military has stepped up its presence in the worst affected North-Western Province to prevent a repeat of the violence, Mr Senanayake said.

Some 5,500 additional police have also been deployed in the province.

Police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekera said the government decided not to impose further night curfews on Thursday because there had been no reports of violence around the country in the past 24 hours.

"We are continuing search operations to arrest those responsible for the riots," he added.

Police said they had detained at least 112 suspects by Wednesday evening and more arrests were being carried out to ensure there was no repetition of the riots.

International Concern

Colombo-based ambassadors of European nations expressed concern over the communal violence and urged the authorities to ensure that all communities were protected.

"We welcome the arrests made in connection with the violence, and call on the government to ensure that the rule of law is upheld and that the law is applied equally to all instigators and perpetrators of communal violence," a joint statement by the diplomats said.

A shopkeeper in Minuwangoda, one of the worst affected towns just north of Colombo, said roads were reopened Thursday amid a heavy military and police presence.

"I normally have about 30 customers in the morning, but today there were just three," the electronic goods seller told news agency AFP by telephone. "Banks have opened, but it will take a few weeks before we get back to our normal routine."

There were similar reports from other riot-scarred towns.

The Easter Sunday attacks on churches and upscale hotels claimed 258 lives and were blamed on local jihadists who pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group.

Muslims in Sri Lanka have been bracing for reprisals since the Easter bombings.

A state of emergency has been in place since the attacks and security forces have been given sweeping powers to detain suspects.

Sri Lanka has also blocked access to social media platforms to prevent what it called the spread of rumours that incited violence.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)